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Real light is a complicated phenomenon that not only acts upon objects, but interacts with them–light bounces off an object and to another object so that an entire scene is implicated. In graphical applications, however, usually only one surface is lit without taking into consideration the other objects in the scene. Ray tracing is sometimes …

Traditionally, users navigate through 3D virtual environments via game controllers; however, game controllers are littered with ambiguously labeled buttons. And while excellent for gaming, this setup makes navigating through 3D space unnecessarily complicated for the average user. James Cheng, a sophomore in Computer Science in Engineering, has been working to resolve this headache by using …

It’s nearing the end of the semester here at the University of Michigan, with final exams and snow on the horizon. Many students are longing to be elsewhere, immersed in an environment that doesn’t involve studying and shoveling– and with a little help from the UM3D Lab, they can be. Recently the UM3D Lab purchased …

This Sailboat environment, similar to the Tea House, demonstrates the capabilities of real-time graphics in an immersive simulation. In this environment, the user can walk around the wave-ridden boat using a flashlight, showing the capabilities of fast-changing and dramatic lighting effects. This demonstration aimed to push the system to its limits with dynamic lighting, real-time …

Moji Navvab has published another article regarding his lighting analysis of virtual reality: “Область Поддающихся Измерению Цветовых Различий в Виртуальной Среде” (“Measurable Domain for Colour Differences within a Virtual Environment”), in, Светотехника (Light & Engineering). The article, in English and Russian, can be downloaded from here and is also embedded below:

Rebecca Davis, professor and researcher at the Grand Valley State University, received a research grant from the National Institute of Health to research how patients with Alzheimers disease navigate their living space. Assisted living homes can be drab or nondescript with long hallways adding to the confusion and frustration for those living in these …

Generating content for stereoscopic displays often requires special methods of rendering a virtual environment or character. Many applications do not come with this support natively. This project was a proof-of-concept to see if we could intercept all of the polygonal and texture data being sent from the application to the graphics for the purposes of …

The UM3D Lab has utilized Linden Labs’ Second Life source code to develop a stereoscopic viewer which allows for a truly unique Second Life experience. This custom viewer allows the user to see Second Life in 3D on everything from a simple desktop monitor to advanced projection systems similar to IMAX theatres. Through a request …